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When Raniís father leaves her mother for another woman, Rani shaves her head in mourning. The visibility of her act of rebellion propels her onto the stage as a hip-hop performer and into a romantic relationship with a man who is much older. The whirlwind romance, coming on the heels of her fatherís abandonment, make her begin to understand how her fatherís sexual abuse wounded her in deeper ways than she, or her mother, have ever been able to acknowledge.

Meanwhile, she seeks solace in making lyrics and performing as well as in her boyfriendís arms. Raniís friends warn her about him but she fails to listen, feeling as though she finally has something and somebody that makes her feel good about herselfónot recognizing that her own talent in hip-hop makes her feel secure, smart, and confident in ways her boyfriend does not. Indeed, as the relationship continues, Rani discovers her boyfriendís drug use and falls victim to his abuse. Losing herself just as she finds herself, Rani discovers her need to speak out against those who would silence heróno matter the personal danger it leads her into.

Sonia Patel writes out of her experience as a first-generation Indian immigrant cradled in the Hawaiian indigenous culture, an experience lushly and brilliantly explored in her debut novel. As a child and adolescent psychiatrist, Patel trained at Stanford University and the University of Hawaii, and has spent over ten years providing individual and family psychotherapy to adolescent girls and their families.

[Raniís] story will appeal to readers who prefer gritty, darker fiction without a pat, happy ending, and characters who donít always overcome their challenges but must face them repeatedly. A strong, unique choice for YA collections.

Raniís environment leaps off the page in vivid and satisfying detail, from the winding roads and small shops of Molokaíi to the intricacies of í90s hip-hop fashion. Ö Author Sonia Patel is a psychiatrist, and her determination to portray Raniís response to trauma truthfully is unrelenting.

Rani Patelís story spoke to me with power and intensity. I felt Raniís pain, but also her energy, determination and her hope for healing Ö Get it soon especially if you enjoy references to 90s hip-hop.

Itís a book that is honest and realistic about how hard it is to come to terms with abuse: how willing and even eager we are to accept excuses and rationalizations, to forgive and give abusers "another chance"; of how much harder it is to see from the inside than the outside.

This book is an open wound. Sonia Patel does not sugar coat...heartbreak, sorrow, and patriarchy, the kinds of things intended to bend and break girls who rap. Girls like Rani. But Rani writes words. Words that go boom. And in Rani Patel in Full Effect, so does Patel.

Rani Patel, MC Sutra herself, is so much more than a character on the page. Ö Rani shows us the power every girl has inside themselves to break the cycle of abuse and reminds us that self love is what frees us up to become the amazing beings we are.